Listerine

Listerine is a brand name for antisepticmouthwash, named after Joseph Lister(father of modern antiseptics). Its medicinal taste is palliated slightly by a sweet flavor. Its slogan is "Kills germsthat cause bad breath", though halitosiscan return after use, even if nothing "extra" is placed in the mouth. This happens because saliva washes away the product, allowing the body's natural bacteria to repopulate the area.

First formulated by Lister in 1879as a surgical antiseptic, it was given to dentists for oral care in 1895and became the first over-the-counter mouthwash sold in the United States in 1914. Listerine was packaged in a glass bottle inside a cardboard tube for nearly 80 years before the first revamps were made to the brand; in 1992, Cool Mint Listerine was introduced in addition to the regular Antiseptic formula, and in 1994, both brands were introduced in plastic bottles for the first time. In 2002, FreshBurst was added, then in 2003Natural Citrus. In 2004, the ill-fated Cinnamon was released. Currently, six different kinds of Listerine are on the market in the U.S. and abroad. The most recent addition is the whitening formula.

Currently manufactured and distributed by PfizerInc., Listerine is one of the most popular mouthwashes sold in the U.S. (Procter & Gamble's Scopebeing its main competitor). In the mid-1990s, Scope listed Rosie O'Donnellas the least-kissable celebrity in the U.S. She teamed up with Listerine to give money to charity every time she kissed someone on her talk show; this provided positive publicity for Listerine and harsh publicity for Scope, which O'Donnell trashed on her show.

The active ingredients are menthol, thymol, methyl salicylate, and eucalyptol, all of which are structural isomers. Ethanolor grain alcohol is present in concentrations between 21 and 26% w/v. At the concentrations in Listerine, ethanol per se does not have antimicrobial activity but rather serves to dissolve the active ingredients and to facilitate the penetration of the active ingredients into dental plaque. Currently, other types of Listerine include Antiseptic, Cool Mint, FreshBurst, Natural Citrus, Advanced with Tartar Control, and Whitening.

Listerine has therapeutic uses that contribute to oral health when used regularly as an adjunct to mechanical oral hygiene procedures (toothbrushing and flossing). Listerine was the first over-the-counter mouthwash to receive the American Dental Association's Seal of Acceptance for helping to control dental plaque and gingivitis. In addition, an FDA Advisory Panel has recommended that the active ingredients in Listerine be classified as Category I (safe and effective) for antiplaque and antigingivitis activity.

The Listerine brand name is also used on brands of toothpasteand on PocketPaks, a minty, dissolvable strip intended to instantly wash and refresh the mouth. In the late summer of 2005, Listerine began selling PocketMist, which is a breath-freshener in spray form.

History

from Freakonomics, p. 91:

Listerine was invented in the 19th centuryas a powerful surgical antiseptic. It was later sold, in a distilled form, as a floor cleaner and a cure for gonorrhea. But it wasn't a runaway success until the 1920s, when it was pitched as a solution for "chronic halitosis"—a then obscure medical term for bad breath. Listerine's new ads featured forlorn young women and men, eager for marriage but turned off by their mate's rotten breath. "Can I be happy with him in spite of that?" one maiden asked herself. Until that time, bad breath was not conventionally considered a catastrophe. But Listerine changed that. As the advertising scholar James B. Twitchellwrites, "Listerine did not make mouthwash as much as it made halitosis." In just seven years, the company's revenues rose from $115,000 to more than $8 million.

Cancer controversy

There is no evidence that its properties as a solvent, mainly from the 26.9% (in regular Listerine) alcohol, cause an easier reception of carcinogens. In other words, repeated use of Listerine does not increase the risk of oral cancer. Both the American Dental Association(ADA) and the United States National Cancer Institute(NCI) agree that the alcohol contained in antiseptic mouthrinse is safe and not a factor in oral cancers. Specific study reviews and results can be found in clinical reports by J.G. Elmore and R.I. Horowitz ["Oral cancer and mouthwash use: Evaluation of the epidemiologic evidence." Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1995;1(113):253–261] and Mashburg et al. ["A Study of the relationship between mouthwash use and oral and pharyngeal cancer." JADA, 1985.] which summarize that alcohol-containing mouth rinses are not associated with oral cancer.

External links

• Official website

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It uses material from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listerine Wikipedia article Listerine.